PC132 Thermodynamics and Waves Lab

Introduction

• The lab manual [ December 6, 2012 ]
• Short version of this year's lab manual (This one skips all of the background information, appendices, etc.) [ December 10, 2014 ]
• New! Results from 2013 lab evaluations [ April 23, 2013 ]
• New! Results from last fall's PC131 lab evaluations [ January 23, 2013 ]
• Plagiarism alert [ December 20, 2017 ]
• Instructional Assistants' (ie. lab demonstrators') contact information [ May 12, 2017 ]

Course Material

Week of ...	Lab/Exercise	Resource Material [ this background indicates required resource this background indicates optional resource this background indicates important items this background indicates weekly topics this foreground indicates updated items this foreground indicates unrevised items ]
	Introduction Standing Waves on a String [even] Exercise: Linearizing Equations [odd]
Jan. 7	Safety - Emergency Numbers   [ April 29, 2015 ] Laboratory Safety Standing Waves on a String [even] Linearizing Equations [odd] lab exercise
		Spreadsheet for Standing Waves on a String lab [ January 8, 2014 ] Spreadsheet with generic template tables [OPTIONAL] [ September 26, 2013 ] Standing Waves on a String Demonstration
	Off week
Jan. 14	You can't do the post-lab questions and tasks from last week yet
	Standing Waves on a String [odd] Exercise: Linearizing Equations [even]
Jan. 21	Standing Waves on a String [odd] Linearizing Equations [even] lab exercise
		Standing waves on a string on Hyperphysics Presentation on linearizing equations [ December 12, 2014 ] Screencast of Linearizing Equations presentation
	Off week
Jan. 28	Pre-lab questions and tasks (if any) for next week
	Exercise: Graphing and Least Squares Fitting
Feb. 4	Graphing and Least Squares Fitting using a Spreadsheet   lab exercise Can be done independently. Make an appointment with the Writing Centre The window for appointments is March 7 to March 19 if your lab is Tuesday; the window for appointments is March 8 to March 20 if your lab is Wednesday.
		Spreadsheet for Graphing and Least Squares Fitting using a Spreadsheet lab exercise [ March 16, 2016 ] Here's a tutorial using Excel for graphing on a Mac Presentation on graphing [ December 12, 2014 ] Screencast of Graphing presentation XY graph with X error bars and Y error bars in LibreOffice Presentation on least squares fitting [ December 12, 2014 ] Screencast of Least Squares Fitting presentation Here's a neat Java applet where you can try fitting by eye and compare it to a least squares fit. Cool demonstration of least squares fitting (Click on "watch web preview".) Presentation on how to determine uncertainties in graphical quantities [ December 12, 2014 ] Screencast of Graphical Uncertainties presentation Presentation on maximum and minimum slopes [ December 12, 2014 ] Screencast of Maximum and Minimum Slopes presentation Clemson University Graphing tutorial in Excel (You may find this useful.)
	Off week
Feb. 11	Post-lab questions and tasks (if any) from last week Prepare draft lab report for "Standing Waves on a String" Lab checklist Pre-lab questions and tasks (if any) for next week
		New! Sample lab report [ January 28, 2011 ]
	READING WEEK
Feb. 18	READING WEEK - No labs
	Exercise: Library Research
Feb. 25	Library Research   lab exercise in room L314 Hand in draft lab report for "Standing Waves on a String" Be sure to attach a checklist!
		Library presentation from 2008 Alternatives to Wikipedia from the library presentation 2008
	Off week
March 4	Post-lab questions and tasks (if any) from last week Pre-lab questions and tasks (if any) for next week
	Exercise: Plotting Curves Using a Spreadsheet Can be done independently.
March 11	Plotting Curves Using a Spreadsheet   lab exercise Get back marked draft report for "Standing Waves on a String"	Presentation on curve plotting using a spreadsheet [ January 30, 2014 ] Screencast of Curve Plotting presentation
		Spreadsheet for Plotting Curves Using a Spreadsheet lab exercise [ March 16, 2016 ]
	Off week
March 18	Revise lab report for "Standing Waves on a String" Help sessions by IA in N2090 - Tuesday March 19 at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday March 19 at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday March 20 at 4:00 p.m. Prepare for lab test Look at the "Recap" section from each lab to see what you should be able to do.
	Lab Test and Lab Evaluation
March 25	Hand in revised lab report for Standing Waves on a String Be sure to attach the draft! Lab test and evaluation Test writing instructions [ March 20, 2012 ]
		Summary of questions from previous PC131 lab tests which were answered incorrectly by more than half of the class. [ March 17, 2011 ]
	Off week
April 1